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Showing posts from 2024

Nothingness!

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  Another year gone by! When I started looking back at the year, I went in my rabbit hole of how I had accomplished nothing. This year, I let my work, professional license go, the one I went to college for ; so I was really gone to the bottom of my rabbit hole of nothingness. I started scrolling through this year's pictures and then stumbled upon a memory of my first born and I from the summer and it came back to me. I had accomplished a lot this year. I had moved 3 children from their dorm rooms from 3 different locations back home. I  then moved 3 children from home into their dorm rooms by myself in two different states, one requiring almost 12 hours of driving one way. I was on the road a lot, I moved mountains, I climbed mountains, (metaphoric and literal ). Not only did I read more books  this year than last year but I also read different genres of books, books suggested by friends, the ones I probably wouldn't have read on my own; I checked a few items off m...

The Estate Sale!

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 A couple of months ago, I attended my first estate sale. I had seen the flyers advertising the hours and was curious about what it would be like. Although I’ve lived in the U.S. for a number of years, this was a new experience for me. When I stepped inside the house, I found myself walking through a life frozen in time. The house belonged to someone who had recently passed away, and everything had to be sold before the property went on the market. There was stuff everywhere. It didn’t take long to realize that this person had likely traveled the world—there were souvenirs from all over. I noticed clothing with price tags still attached, scarves, purses, shoes still in their boxes, and university merchandise - also untouched; kitchen brimming with platters, dishes, and vases. Judging by all the items, I assumed a single woman must have lived there. Perhaps she had attended a prestigious university, or maybe it was her children who had. I picked up a few items, but something s...

Charity is Personal !

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  It’s December, the season of giving. It’s a time to reflect on our blessings, extend a hand to those in need, and support causes that resonate deeply with us. It’s the time when we open our hearts—and sometimes our wallets—to causes that speak to us.   But let’s be honest: it’s also the time when the lines between passion and pressure can blur. Amidst goodwill and generosity, this season also brings an important lesson: charity is personal. I got calls from two people, you know the kind you get around the holidays, soliciting donations? When I said no thank you, the caller almost became belligerent. How could I not give??? A few Years ago, I used to be upset with people I knew for not donating to my personal favorite charities. Those causes meant everything to me. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t resonate with everyone else. But then, a simple conversation over chai with a dear friend shifted my perspective. I shared my disappointment about how no one in my ci...

Exercise? I Thought You Said Accessorize!

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  Exercise? I Thought You Said Accessorize! I used to be that person, the one who always found a reason to avoid exercise. But I’m happy to say that’s no longer the case.   As a healthcare professional, I understood the benefits of staying active, yet I was “too busy” taking care of others or at least that was the lie I told myself. But all that changed during and because of the pandemic. I challenged myself with a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day, and I achieved it almost every day, save for a few here and there.   For those who don’t know me, let me confess; I used to take my children to the local Y for their activities and spend that time sitting on a comfy sofa reading a book instead of exercising. I simply wasn’t ready then. That’s how I wanted to spend my “ME” time. Here is a picture of me from those days, courtesy of a friend.    They say that it takes 21 days to either form a new habit or break an existing one. And I did it. I changed my habit....

Too little time....

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I am a mom of three grown kids, college kids. Like every parent who has children away from home, I was waiting eagerly to have them home for Thanksgiving, even if it would be brief; the house to be full again, the sound of music in the house once again. I imagined lots of dinners, them sharing stories, and some unhurried moments. Then they came; they were busy with homework the whole time. The piano, which I had dreamed of hearing again, was played just once. My heart was full to hear my favorite tunes. The first born was not as busy as the younger ones and he accompanied me on my daily walks; just the two of us, catching up. It felt like a small gift, between assignments and deadlines. My heart was full. We had all the dinners together at home and then, just like that, they left. Younger ones had to leave early as they are in marching band, and they had to go back for their college rivalry game. And even though they work just as hard as band students, it's always all...

Nothing, I did nothing today!

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  Nothing. I did nothing today. A couple of weeks ago, I took my camera out for a walk and was gone for almost three hours. After I came back home and while I was looking through the pictures, my sister called. She asked me what I’d been up to. Without thinking, I blurted, “I did nothing today. I got nothing done. Now I have so much to do; I’m behind on all the chores.” After we finished talking, I went to the kitchen, the pile of dishes was looking at me. As I started washing, my mind wandered back to the earlier conversation with my sister. Why did I tell her I’d done nothing ? Have chores and household tasks become the only markers of my productivity? Do they get to define who I am? Is that how I now measure my worth? Hmmm, long pause. The answer was yes but that’s because I had been conditioned to think that way. Wandering without purpose, even for pleasure, felt like a waste of time. If photography were my profession, maybe I’d see those hours as productive. But simply...

My New Friend!

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Yesterday, I wrote a blog about celebrating victories, my son’s recent accomplishments.   Culturally, where I come from, we are  often told not to brag, it invites bad karma. I had some time on my hands this morning and I was curious about all the buzz around ChatGPT, so I decided to explore it a little. I’m not sure what AI is typically referred to as, whether it’s a he, she, it, or they; but I’m going to  refer to it as a "she."   I even asked the AI what their pronouns were.   She said , “ I don’t have personal pronouns like a human, but you’re welcome to refer to me however you feel comfortable! Some people use "it," while others might say "she" or "they." I don't mind any pronouns you choose. You’ve been referring to me as "she," and that works perfectly fine!” So, I am going to stick with “she” and here is a conversation between her and I. I enjoyed chatting with her and appreciated the thoughtful answers she gave me...

No victory is too small! Celebrate them all.

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Some say you should keep your victories quiet, and in Indian culture, I’ve often heard that sharing too much happiness or “bragging” can invite bad karma. But I live in the U.S. now, and not too long ago, I was listening to a podcast where the speaker said, "No victory is too small; you should celebrate them all." So, do we celebrate them quietly or share them with everyone? I mulled over this, contemplated it, and went back and forth about whether to post or not. But today, my mommy heart won. This isn't about bragging—it’s about celebrating a journey, both mine and my son’s. I want to share my joy with all of you. This year marks a huge milestone for me: 25 years of being a mom. And as I celebrated this milestone in different ways, my firstborn—the one who made me a mom 25 years ago—graduated from law school in the spring and has now successfully passed the bar exam on his first try! Yay for him. And I might add—he’s the first lawyer in our family. Some might say...

Name as a character in a book !

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I don’t know what triggered the Facebook algorithm, but I notice that many of my followers are authors, and for some reason, a lot of you are from the UK , some are from Canada, Nigeria, Sweden, a few from the USA and only one from India. Forget being accomplished, I don’t even consider myself in the writer category; I blog every now and then and I feel extremely honored to be in the company of all of you authors, poets. Anyways, here is the reason for this blogging, ramblings. My daughter recently told me that one famous author who happens to be one of my favorites; was holding a charitable auction for names for characters in his upcoming novel. Pardon my ignorance, but that was the first time I ever heard of such a thing. Hmm.!!! My first reaction, “I would love for my name to be one of his characters even if it means she is convicted of a crime.” (This particular author writes crime thrillers and courtroom dramas). But then he would have to change his plot or storyline to reflect so...

Alcohol poisoning!

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 It's back to college season, for some of you, it might be the first child drop off. It means a lot of alcohol will be consumed whether you, as a parent, like it or not, want it or not.  Even if we, as parents, choose not to drink and believe we are setting a good example, this does not guarantee that our children will follow us. Alcohol poisoning is very real and dangerous, happens more often than you think. It can affect anyone, any age group regardless of their background or family environment. Recently, someone we know and love almost lost their life due to alcohol poisoning. In this recent incident, the said child did not even drink a high amount of alcohol, but they were unaware of how their body would react. Ironically, while this child had a drink to fit in with the friends, it was these same friends who recognized the signs of alcohol poisoning and averted the tragedy. They called the parents immediately. The quick action on their part saved the child's life, but ...

Who is the "They"?

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They said, work hard, go after your dreams. You worked hard and went after your dreams. They say there is a price to pay for everything. Nothing comes for free. So now you have paid the price. You worked hard, you gave your time, you worked hard to fulfill your dreams. They said you can't have everything. So now you have a fulfilled dream, but it has cost you time, the time away from your family. They say there is nothing like spending time with your family. You do just that but now you have no money. Then there are those who were doomed by their circumstances, by where they were born, the color of their skin. It didn't matter how hard they worked. They could have nothing. Their fate was decided by geopolitics, their race. They had no chance. Some will spend their entire lives in refugee camps. The moral of the "they say", "you need to give up something to get something, you can't have it all" is a bunch of BS. I haven't figured...

What's in a Name?

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  What's in a name, one asks. Well, I will tell you. The remnants of history and colonization still live in a catholic community where I grew up. My ancestors were Hindus who were converted to Christianity by Portuguese missionaries during 16th century and either they willingly adopted the Portuguese last names or were forced to take their names. I am not a historian, but this is what I have gathered over the years. Christopher Columbus was trying to find a sea route to India but instead landed somewhere in the Caribbean in Circa 1492. Then another Portuguese sailor Vasco De Gama left in search for the sea route and landed on the west coast of India in circa 1498, bringing Portuguese missionaries to India who then travelled up the coast converting the local Hindu people into Christianity, voluntarily or by force. During that time, they landed in my hometown (only a few kilometers outside of Mumbai). The church that my family attends is four hundred fifty years old. Last names suc...

National Selfie Day!

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  It's National Selfie Day today. I call myself the "selfie Queen". I was taking selfies back in the days even before the word "selfie" was coined, not on the phone but with a regular camera. I was an exhausted mom, of twins, there would nobody be around to take a picture of me with them. I have no pictures of me as a baby or growing up, of me or pictures of me with my parents/ siblings and I wanted to make sure that my children had plenty of those. There were times when I was tired, sad , angry, frustrated, feelings of hopelessness, at home with them, sitting on the sofa, crying, all of us. There was a TV in front of the sofa I could see our reflections on the TV screen; looking at their innocent faces on that screen would melt me, spark happiness inside of me. That's when it occurred to me. I wanted to catch those moments, happy, sad moments, when I was ready to give up but I didn't. I had found my happiness, through these selfies. I so very loved tho...

Celebrating small victories!

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  Lately, I have been listening to Melissa Clark ‘s writing pool podcast. In one of the episodes, she talks about celebrating, are you celebrating enough? She was of course talking about writing, writing victories. She inspired me to write this post, a celebration of small victories. I am not a writer. I am what you may call a rising blogger, mostly mom stories, my journey as a mom. However, my creativity involves pictures and photography. Not too long ago, someone I know in the community asked me this question, why do I label all the pictures I post, who do I think I am? They were joking but I was kind of offended by that remark. Hmm. Who do I think I am? Not a professional photographer by any standard. I don’t have formal training. Sure, I accumulated a lot of photography gear over the years, but it has remained a hobby. I am not delusional. I am an amateur. I label my pictures in the grim hope that someday they may go viral, someday they will be shared by many, and the ori...

There!

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  Watching "THIS IS US" these days , a TV show and one of the episodes is named "there". Didn't know what to expect until halfway through. One of the characters, Kevin, talks about his dad who is now deceased, about how he was the most "there" father, how he was always there for them! It hit home. My siblings and I were, are blessed by the most "there" father ever, physically present dad. He was always there, did not miss anything. When and where I grew up, my father was ahead of his time to be always " there." That was not what fathers did back then. But my father did, he was always present, pushing us to do better, encouraging us in the most subtle ways. He didn't care that we were girls. He taught me to be curious, passed his love for books, reading and his legacy of journaling to me. He wanted me to touch the sky, aim high. We may not have had money, but we had him, our rock. He was solid. He could make anything happen and h...